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Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
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I didn't find it disappointing, I just thought it wasn't as good. Didn't make it disappointing in my eyes tho.
But yeah, Kirby's illustration's messed me up for a loooong time. I read a few of the books when I was quite a bit younger, so when I heard Twoflower as being described with four eyes and then seeing him on the cover with literally four eyes, I just thought he really had four eyes. And I also thought Rincewind was some old bugger for far too long.
Also, I think as far as a Golden Age for terry, I'd put it earlier than 1991, maybe 89 or so when Guards! Guards! came out. But I'd say it's still going. While Making Money was a little weaker than the batch of novels preceding it, and there were a few other slightly worse-off-thought-not-by-any-means-bad eggs in there, the line of books from Guards! Guards! to Making Money have been fantastic.
Which makes it even worse, because he's still writing some of his best stories even now.
I think their two versions of death are more similar then you'd initially think. Both aren't "evil", which is the typical interpretation of death. Both have a sense of humour about the whole thing, etc.
Starting THUD! tomorrow. One of the few I haven't read.
Has anyone mentioned the underrated Truckers trilogy yet? The first Pratchett books I read. Still great.
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
We'd talked about this in The Writer's Block, and yeah, the main thing is that Terry's being very philosophical about it. I think that man could continue to write irreverent and great fantasy works right up until a giant mechanised beetle falls from the sky and squashes his house- politely, of course- and even then he'd be kicking aside mortar and dodging metal mandibles to get to his Mac.
He's kind've tucked away to the side. He's holding a bottle and looks like a fairly heavy guy.
Yeah, I do like the newer stuff better, but Kirby's Nobby always seemed right to me. His trolls stuck in my head for a long time too, even after he'd stopped doing the covers.
Good books and a really imaginative look at humans from a different perspective. The cover art was the only art I enjoyed from the old illustrator, it kind of suited the feel.
That'd be Dario Fo I belive.
And fuck, I've been saddened by this all day. Here's to you Terry, hope you have many good years and books ahead of you.
You mean they steal author's in the UK? In the US, thats called kidnapping.
Anyways, as a salute to Pratchett and the hope that he still has many years of enjoyment left in him, I went out and bought Monstrous Regiment today. Should get to reading it over winter break.
I really liked Monstrous Regiment. It's pretty damn dark in places, I thought. The feminist aspects are interesting and it obviously resonated to me personally as a sort of parody of general Eastern European or specifically Balkan politics.
Me likey that book.
Me too. He even managed to sneak Vimes in.
And labeling things as an Abomination Unto Nuggan is a wonderful stress reliever.
I always like Rincewind best when he's driven into a corner, when there are things even he isn't cowardly enough to do. I think the best example of this is at the end of The Last Continent, when there's nothing left for him to do but rage against what seems to be inevitable (and Death in particular). He's a coward, but he's also a good person. Plus he came up with that great quote in Last Hero:
"We, who are about to die, don't want to."
Oh yeah, I know that. I've already read Reaper Man and Small Gods. I got the omnibus for convenience sake and I'm going read that since it contains the first Discworld books, which I haven't read yet. I need to see where it all began.
That also reminds me, I have started The Light Fantastic about 3 times now, still haven't finished it. Maybe I should pick it up again and see if I can get through it this time.
I don't know if it's true or not, but I have a possible explanation as to why it might be.
Rincewind is, as Ridcully put it in Interesting Times, a survivor. He does everything possible to not meet Death in a professional setting. Much like with Vimes (although not as proactive), any Assassin trying to kill Rincewind will find his task nearly impossible and filled with frustration at every turn. Rincewind has survived every continent (including the 99% poisonous FourEcks), has gone over the Rim twice, and has literally been to hell and back.
AM950,000 might be a little on the low side, if you ask me.
http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/Reading_Order
Whoever said Night Watch was the best one... yes. Also Thud! and Reaper Man. But there is a special place in my care chip for Thief of Time, which has the Monks of History.
I can't cite this but I am absolutely certain he said there was one more book left in the series in some interview or another. In the same interview he said it would be the last Rincewind book. And Vyolynce, that is a GREAT theory.
Rincewind has always been a favorite of mine, I mean, he is Death's hobby for bugger-all.
Also, going by the Lspace timeline he spend about a year or so (Disc time, not Dungeon Dimensions time) in the Dungeon Dimensions.
I would also, although this is unlikely to happen, like to see more back story on the Tower of Art.
Although; are the audiobooks any good? They're a tad on the expensive side on iTunes (which is par for the course, I suppose), but if they're worth listening to, that might be a viable alternative to getting the books individually. I see Nigel Planer reads Colour of Magic :O
jeeze, this sucks. i was just waiting to start the new discworld over christmas break, too
I know it's probably stupid to ask, but there was one before that (If you consider Equal Rites a Witch book), and two after them (Maskerade and Carpe Jugulum)
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
My favorite "series" of books is the night watch series, Vimes is totally the best character.
You're basically correct. The price comes from the Assassins' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2000, one of the series of diaries which add detail and awesome Kidby illustrations to some of the institutions of the Disc. The details are:
Open Commission: Rincewind (Assistant Librarian at UU) (AM$950K). Mr Rincewind is one of nature's survivors. He seems not to be a violent man, but Assassins attempting this commission seem to find themselves the victims of unexplained accidents - falling slates, lightning strikes - or, and this is worth noting, being waylaid by Mr Rincewind's travel accessory.
The diary doesn't mention who is willing to pay, but it may be that the commission was, er, commissioned in The Colour of Magic due to his dealings with Twoflower, and the offer has never been withdrawn.